ONESHOT - SASUKARIN; 5 TIMES SASUKE FELL FOR KARIN
Back when I wrote 5 times Karin cried in front of Sasuke (and one time she didn't), I mentioned that I had in mind a piece following the same criteria but from Sasuke's POV - now, two years later, I've finally written it lol589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26GyHkHwp7
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Title: 5 times Sasuke fell for Karin (and the one time he realized it)589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUH0lp1Py2s
By: Kanae (Goth-Punk88 @ ff.net)589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj18eCps6er
Rating: K+589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2D2e9u7PZh
Word Count: 3.466589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZ2SVArKLQ
Author's Notes: Most of it takes place during the time-skip; however, the very last vignette takes place post-series. So we're dealing with a redeemed Sasuke who no longer carries the weight of his revenge around and a Karin that has also gone through her fair share of stuff. So their behavior will, of course, be different. - There is also a line that was inspired by a RoyAi (Fullmetal Alchemist) quote ♥
five times Sasuke fell for Karin;589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEbGuho0QM
(and the one time he realized it)
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“Do you understand, Karin?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWh6gT47Hho
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“…Yeah.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLRkI2kINj
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Her agreement is absent-minded, her voice no more than a mere mutter, and Sasuke finds his brows lightly furrowing at the girls’ disposition. Alas, he has not done more than part his lips when an all too familiar rustling catches his ears and takes his attention away from the redhead.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjljjGCUhr
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A snake was sliding up the trunk of a nearby tree, and as it curled and made itself comfortable on a branch, its reptile eyes squarely met Sasuke’s, its tongue darting out to hiss at him in a language of sounds that he could not understand—but that got the message across, either way.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2lHx2Mbw7
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Orochimaru wants to see you.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg5KuOBj8K
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Sasuke’s eyes narrow with annoyance, his tongue clicking against his front teeth. “Karin,” he calls, averting his eyes from the serpent and back to the girl, who had been also watching the animal with half-interest.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbW12HMCzik
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“It’s fine,” she says, in reply to words that Sasuke had yet to speak—and so the boy closes his lips, evenly staring at her in silence instead. There is no surprise in his gaze; this has been happening with increasing frequency lately, and by now he has almost come to expect it—but there is a certain degree of wariness.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jSCW8udqm
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If he is that easy to look through, then how can he expect to fulfill his plan without raising Orochimaru’s suspicions? Karin’s acute perception made him question himself, and he did not like that. He most definitely did not like the thought of being read so aptly.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7fdV6aGdp
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Despite that, for some reason his annoyance never directed itself at her. “I will be back. You keep practicing.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYU4pgAKCM
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Karin accepts his directions with a noncommittal nod, and Sasuke gives her one last look before jumping to the nearest tree, dashing past the snake that had come to deliver the message and back to the lair.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHUYCXriKm
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It’s been a little over two weeks since Orochimaru had taken the girl in—a little over two weeks since Sasuke had laid eyes on the redhead for the second time, this time finding her unscratched and unmoving but surrounded by death. By the corpses of those she held dear—and Sasuke, quite frankly, did not know what to make of her yet. Fact that unnerved him, because more often than not he would find himself relating to her; recognizing himself in the blankness of her stare, in the lack of drive behind the movements of her fingers. And that was no good—that was not to be allowed. Last time such a thing had happened, it had brought him Naruto—and he knew damn well how well that had turned out.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAxPaqIwRQ
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I can’t afford such distractions, he concludes to himself—even less so when more often than not, he found himself feeling mildly concerned for the girl who had lost everything, just as he had.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MAte2LXSN
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It’s been two weeks, and she still looked every bit as dead as she had when they found her.
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Damn Orochimaru, Sasuke complains inwardly as he rushes back to the lake, dashing through the trees. Calling him for something so trivial, he had Kabuto for such matters; Sasuke was only there to be trained, not to—589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlpLkZ4uDG
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His thoughts halt at the same time his steps slow to a stop, as the lake comes into view and alongside it, Karin.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolPo38WvxQ
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A Karin who was soaked from head to toe, but that was standing steadily right on the middle of the lake, her head raised upwards towards the sky, the rays of the sun bathing her form whole and drawing golden highlights on her vivid red hair.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIrM8TnLmE
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Her name comes to his lips but becomes a stifled, unfinished call as the girl turns towards him and gives him a breathless, joyful grin that brought life to her eyes and steals the breath right from his lungs.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhV2oVtrc8w
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“I did it!” Karin calls out, an uncharacteristic display of candor that was more in tune with the girl he had come across four months ago than with the carcass he had found two weeks ago.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEEzObfr0B
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“Heh, I can see that.” Sasuke assesses, and it is only then that he realizes he is smirking.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY93nnKolX3
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Karin was a fast learner.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOwe0qADi1
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2.
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“Why are you with Orochimaru, Sasuke?” Karin inquires one evening as they eat in silence, one of those rare occasions where neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto were around to intrude.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXZp6U4o0d
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Sasuke does not raise his eyes from his plate, the reply coming to him entirely too easy, “To become more powerful.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZIsSFBRpr
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“What for?” Karin asks this time, tilting her head to the side. Sasuke’s eyes do flicker towards her then, and he finds the redhead frowning and giving him a curious look. “You don’t look like the kind of guy who would willingly stick with Orochimaru to grow more powerful, just for the kicks.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rEuk7a2Jd
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There Karin went again. Inwardly, Sasuke sighs. Karin was becoming more and more straight-forward as time passed; and that, coupled with her uncanny perception and sharp tongue, was proving to be a dangerous combination.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYJ5S8SmW9
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Slowly but surely, Sasuke was beginning to learn that there was no point in keeping things from the redhead.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2r2FCvvI2o
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“I seek the power to kill one man,” he states, and cannot really help the way his hold on the chopsticks tightens a fraction as that name rolls out his tongue. “Uchiha Itachi.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOISSDZREf
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Karin blinks, “Uchiha…?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVxiJz7E6E
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“Yes. Uchiha Itachi, my older brother,” he reveals, steadily. “My traitorous, murderous bastard of a brother.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTptZcEKh5D
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Silence envelops the table, and when Sasuke raises his face and gazes into her eyes Karin holds them there. To his surprise, Karin did not look startled or disgusted—if anything, the Karin returning his stare looked resolute, reliable, imperious; and Sasuke finds himself incapable of looking away.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZKgGz4wip
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When Karin speaks, no whys come out of her lips. “Do you know where to find him?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZZhCfkAUH
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She asks, and it is slowly that Sasuke shakes his head—a negative. Karin’s gaze sets, then; her eyes boring into his, without hesitation.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYgCc6lNd3
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“Then it’s settled; I will help you.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIr27HfIyl
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Sasuke parts his lips, but it is a futile gesture—one that draws a tight-lipped, but reassuring smile on Karin’s lips.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmYfuV8rxY
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I will help you, her silence seemed to be repeating through her gaze—and everything falls into place.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZE6AmdPSE
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3.
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“Karin,” he calls, but receives no reply.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstAETMKZ2A
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He had come back from a job Orochimaru had asked him to do only to find the lair submerged in silence; an eerie, unnatural silence that made discomfort settle and nest inside of his gut.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRW55QICfqS
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There’s something wrong here, that he knows, but he does not know what—and that puts him on edge. Even more so, because—589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoAJkwiy59
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“Karin!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlwiIPFuYG
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The redhead was nowhere to be found. Sasuke does not think Orochimaru would dispose of her, not when she was shaping up to be such a valuable asset—but the man was as unpredictable as he was twisted, and Sasuke had a bad feeling. He has had a bad feeling from the moment Orochimaru sent him out while placing a bony hand on Karin’s shoulder, the girl obviously struggling with herself to not squirm under his touch.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX23OjKF8xN
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I’ll be fine, her eyes had seemed to affirm, wordlessly commanding him to leave, and though unconvinced, Sasuke had left. But now—it seemed his instincts had been right, after all.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKYUDSEhly
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“Karin!” He tries again, and while he receives no reply from the redhead, another voice chimes in her stead.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCFAdsJLdx
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“My, Sasuke-kun, why the ruckus?” Kabuto questions, and Sasuke turns only to find the silver-haired man standing at the entrance of one of the rooms employed for human experimentation. Sasuke is about to rudely dismiss the man’s intervention—Kabuto was always more trouble than he was worth, and he never shut up—when his eyes take in the droplets of blood splattered across his gray sleeves, and cautious—suspicious—his gaze slides back to the man’s black eyes only to notice the weird glint possessing them.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVjQofxzRj
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Sasuke’s back stiffens, his features contorting in a vicious frown. “Where is Karin?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0kZAsHmpe
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“Oh, you’re looking for her?” Kabuto says, feigning ignorance—playing the fool in a way Sasuke has grown to despise. His act creaks however as the man cannot hold back the smirk that begins to curve his lips; “You should’ve said so before, Sasuke-kun!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvMKF7MTtm
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Sasuke is roughly pushing past him and into the room even before Kabuto can have the pleasure of saying she is inside—only to come to a halt as his eyes land on the stretcher disposed on the center of the room; the stretcher upon which sat a redhead, her back turned towards Sasuke.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qiGfOfQwA
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“Karin,” he calls, and again the girl remains silent. It is while feeling a strong, wild sense of foreboding that Sasuke circles the stretcher—and the more he saw, the more his eyes widened with agitation.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavVyXIxYse
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Karin was hurriedly buttoning up her shirt—trying to prevent Sasuke from realizing what had just been done to her. But her unexposed skin conveys the message just fine—the bloodied, tattered mess her left forearm had become, chunks of skin cleanly torn off and revealing nothing but a raw, red maze underneath and—and—589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡro9apRdAmV
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The bite marks. There were two, three, four bite marks tracing Karin’s arm from her wrist up to her elbow, and—Sasuke’s insides turn into stone.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzybVNcEyg
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There was a bite mark cruelly and roughly carved on the side of Karin’s neck.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrP4oqjkKF
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Sasuke sees red and the tomoe start to spin inside his sharingan, his cursed seal reacting and burning at his neck, asking for Kabuto’s blood.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaju9IRbQC
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“Wait!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiB8zyA7QRe
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Karin calls, reaching out and grabbing a hold of his wrist before Sasuke could leave the room. He darts his sharingan to her only briefly, anger making his head throb. “Let go, Karin.” He commands through a hiss, but Karin does not bulge; if anything, her hold strengthens, her eyes narrowing.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkvLArMEJb
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“Get a hold of yourself, Sasuke! You will be playing right into his game if you attack him!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBk124FqKw
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The thought of satisfying Kabuto or not mattered little to Sasuke now, even less so as he saw the way Karin’s arm—the one with careless teeth marks carved all over—trembled as she held his wrist. “Let go of me, Karin!” He snarls, but Karin does not back down.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKW72TAxl2p
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“I don’t need you to defend me, Sasuke!” Karin growls, and her words make Sasuke stop, surprise taking over his features and mixing in with the blind rage. “I’m not some useless little girl who needs you to play knight in shining armor, so drop the act!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyaiRlcOqa
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That—defending her, it had not been his intention. Sasuke did not wish to defend anyone but his Clan’s honor, the honorable memory they had left behind; that was the only thing he cared about enough to defend. The one and only.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7gQTYFWh1
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His sharigan melts into obsidian once again as his cursed seal stops aching. He had not wished to defend Karin—he had not. Seeing her reduced to a test subject at the mercy of a man like Kabuto made Sasuke feel indignant, was all. Especially when he had left her in such a state.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDkud4Rt1j
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“… What did he do to you, Karin?” Sasuke asks after a long moment of silence, and it is only then that Karin lets go of his wrist and reaches out for the gauze and bandages lying on the surgeon’s table by the stretcher.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuj787tzPrH
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“W-well… it seems I heal really fast,” she begins to explain, and Sasuke bites back the no shit that had made its way to his tongue. That much was something they both knew well; it was hard not to notice it when wounds that took weeks to fade for Sasuke were gone in mere days when it came to the redhead. “Apparently, this… regenerative ability of mine’s is related to my chakra. Kabuto wondered if it could be used to heal others aside from myself, and… it turns out that it can.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWZwkhou0o
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Sasuke frowns faintly, “How?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomQHTNOhVa
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Karin’s silence confirms his thoughts even before her voice does. “By letting others suck on my chakra. Kabuto made it so that it would be possible through… biting me.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhSSFO1nTR
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The redhead raises her eyes then, meeting Sasuke’s head on and wordlessly daring him to react the way he had before—the unspoken warning helps Sasuke keep his anger under control, but it coils inside of him, cold and dangerous—he knew well just why Orochimaru wanted Karin to heal in such a fashion. “…They will use you, Karin.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9VdfzbvlE
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Karin does not flinch at the way Sasuke spits his words, gritted through his teeth; instead, she smiles. “I know.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HMZcoJdlW
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Sasuke can only stare, flabbergasted at the serenity present in Karin’s smile—and his surprise morphs and serves as a threshold to something entirely different as Karin looks away, her bangs hiding her eyes from his view.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NfAswVCru
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“But this ability is now mine. And... it will help whomever I work with, once Orochimaru is gone.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaO4ChC65T
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The meaning behind her words dawns on Sasuke like a blanket, and as he assimilates it his body relaxes; his fists unclenching.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wMNTONFuA
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“…Let me, Karin,”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RGx4tfr86
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He takes the gauze from her hands and cleans her wounds himself; and while Karin does flinch, she does not utter a single complaint—and Sasuke finds his body coiling in an entirely different way as his flesh brushes hers and the weight of her stare sits comfortably on the back of his head.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4PxzvLfJQ
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4.
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Sasuke crumbles to the ground with a dry thud, a surge of blood pouring out from the gaping gash in his torso and splattering to the ground with a sickening splash. He grits his teeth as he presses his hand against the wound and looks down to evaluate the damage; it was bad. A little more and he could’ve got a punctured lung.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2OHQP6gTs
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“Sasuke!” calls a voice, and Karin is at his side at once, pulling her sleeve back and offering him her forearm to bite. Sasuke does not hesitate—they had done this enough times already—and this time Karin bites back her usual moan in order to lecture him through gritted teeth. “S-seriously, Sasuke! What were you thinking, charging like that?!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYAw6MaRmqT
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“Karin’s right, Sasuke-kun,” Orochimaru agrees, his husky voice stretching every syllable and making Sasuke dizzy with disgust rather than out of blood loss, “That was quite the reckless deflection. If I had meant to kill you, you would be gone.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47sWcmTWVR
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“Shut… up…!” Sasuke breathes out with some effort, as Karin takes her arm back and pulls her sleeve down. “Stop… talking, and come at me… again!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJmEUxwJzo
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Karin lets out a surprised huh?! as Sasuke tries to stand up again, but the Uchiha pays it no heed, his eyes set on Orochimaru, who shakes his head with a smirk.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtL9aIhUjy1
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“You won’t be able to lay a finger on me in such a pitiful state, Sasuke-kun.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9I9RcSWOw2
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“I said… shut up!” Sasuke scowls, gasping for breath still, but before he could manage to stand on his own two feet a rough pull on his arm has made him sink back to the ground. Startled and indignant, Sasuke looks up only to meet Karin’s angry red eyes.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFW7kQQHr1l
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“Are you deaf, Sasuke?! Your state is pitiful! You totally beat up! You don’t even have much chakras left—what the hell do you think you’re doing, asking to continue?!”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jsKlF03Iy
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“Karin…” Sasuke warns, his eyes narrowing—but he cannot even finish his sentence as Karin reaches out and roughly seizes the collar of his shirt, angrily pulling him to her face.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7rQOseLsP
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“Don’t you dare tell me to stay out of it, Sasuke! No way in hell am I staying aside while you get yourself killed out of sheer stupidity!” Karin all but growls, those red eyes of hers smoldering with raw fury like Sasuke had never seen her sporting before, her warm breath tickling his nose with her every word, and Sasuke finds himself at a loss of words—his own anger evaporating like wind under the fire burning in her gaze and setting his own body aflame, drying up his throat.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfI3z6JPg2
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Sasuke can distinctly hear Orochimaru chuckling, somewhere—but it sounds far, far away as Karin’s voice softens to a caress.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyoUXsLVRd
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“… I am not letting you die on me, Sasuke. Ever.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGXNAHYRGP
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5.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGUALoUbi3
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This happened every year, but somehow it never got any easier—it never got any less painful. The pain scarred, yes; but it never quite faded. And with every memory, with every thought he gave to that fateful day, the pain only worsened.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUqrTe8hW0
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Back when he resided in Konoha, it was downright impossible to find real quietness; even if he were to remain secluded in the compound, the echoes of villagers laughing and living would always reach him. Like mementos of what his own clan could’ve been doing had Itachi not murdered them.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfy5PuxVMg
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Now that he is in Oto, however, silence comes only too easily. It envelops him, overwhelms him—and in it, Sasuke finds no solace. On the contrary, he finds an empty echo that made loneliness soundlessly slide into every single creak of his being, settling in the beatings of his heart and in the creases of his palms.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjUe1Gil4F
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It threatens to make Sasuke succumb to it—and it is then that Karin wordlessly takes a seat by his side and takes his hand in hers, her warm touch anchoring him down to the present and pushing away—however slightly, however briefly—the ghosts of the past who were trying to take him back with them.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMwtd1dkrh
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“Karin,” he whispers, and if Karin notices how choked his voice is, she says nothing of it. “…Will you follow me?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmb2pWiBX1
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He does not know why he feels the need to ask such a thing—but when Karin gives his hand a reassuring squeeze, he finds that he does not quite care about the reasons.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3U9fay30Oz
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“If that's what you want, Sasuke… then even to hell.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqHsHWpg6L
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And suddenly, it gets easier to breathe.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jrnAOGa3v
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0.
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“You came,”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnufWRZe680
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He says blandly, and Karin snorts.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAPskjb3KB
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“I told you before, didn’t I? I keep my word.” Sasuke says nothing in turn—can find nothing to say, and so Karin snorts again and comes to stand by his side, looking over Konoha for a moment before inquiring, with mild curiosity, “Where to, from here?”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B69SE61Ri
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“I don’t know,” Sasuke replies, with honesty—but he finds himself feeling more at peace with the uncertainty of his future now than he did before Karin walked in. The knowledge picks his curiosity, but he does not feel confused—and somehow it makes the corner of his lips upturned into a smile. “I guess we will find out as we go.”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxD8yET371P
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Karin accepts his reply with a nod, and as a soft breeze blows past them Sasuke allows himself to look away from the village and at the girl standing by his side—her red hair had gotten longer, and her features had hardened—but she was still Karin. The same Karin whose life he saved back in the Forest of Death, the same Karin who had saved his life more times than he could count.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqkiIVrWtX
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And right then, under the warm rays of the setting sun, Sasuke found that he thought her beautiful. It is an alien thought—but one that he knows is true given the way it seems to settle in his consciousness as if fitting in like the missing piece of a puzzle.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5TrpQnmPd
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Karin seems to feel the weight of his gaze because she turns to face him—and Sasuke finds a smile dancing in her lips, a knowing but happy gleam in her half-lidded red eyes.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsRE1TQA8m
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“It’s about time,” she teases, and another piece falls into place.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4r1owKyrp
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“… You haven’t taken your glasses off yet,” he comments, and his words steal a laugh from Karin—the sound is light and merry and enticing, and his heart reacts to it before his mind has gotten the chance to assimilate it—spurring his hand into motion.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiu7tPsyV7
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When his fingers come in touch with her cheek, Karin draws in a breath—but neither of them is truly taken aback by his boldness, and that is, probably, what surprises Sasuke the most.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfENbyzaMPk
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“…Idiot,” Karin mutters fondly, clasping his hand with her own and leaning into his touch, letting her eyes shut close.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdLw8adJIQ
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And it’s then that Sasuke understands, once and for all—what had always tied him to this girl above all others, despite his better judgment, despite his desire to remain unaware and think otherwise.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTfkGtCT4I
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But it was impossible to deny, now—and more importantly, he no longer had the desire to do so.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSNk8Z1yuF
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“Karin…”589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFdKvLJBZX
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“I know,” Karin says, and the look in her eyes makes Sasuke feel at home.589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTgN4d7zgH
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.end589Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjP8MGbTTy
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I evidently hurried the last vignette a bit; mostly because I wanted to keep it vague, and were I to write Sasuke's realization step by step it would take pages lol it's better to let you guys fill in the blanks~ but to add some context to it, Karin actually kissed Sasuke sometime before he was fully redeemed.
tags: fanfic, karin, naruto, oneshot, sasukarin, sasuke
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